Friday, January 22, 2010

If it ain't Long, it's Wrong

Today I decided to take a look at what was going on with the front axle on the Bakers Shaker. It seems that almost every one of these old springers needs a lot of attention before you think about riding it down the street. You'll find in most cases that over the years various owners made their quick fixes with what little tools they had. This time around I found that someone needed a front axle and used what ever appeared first in their stash pile. It looked to be an old wide glide axle that was four different diameters. It wouldn't fit through the right side rocker so they used a dremel tool to make the hole big enough for the axle to slip through. A bunch of cuss words and a few hours later I had a the rocker problem fixed and a new axle in place.

During all of this I was thinking about my visit to Sugar Bear's Shop and all the wisdom he shared with me. Big Ben, Andrea, Wil and I stopped by one night to watch movies with Sugar Bear and Fuji. It's amazing to see the amount of history hanging on the walls of his shop. The pictures begin I believe in the late 40's and span all the way up until present day. Each one is a history lesson it itself. Sugar Bear makes the best Springer front ends you can get. If my springer was a Sugar Bear, I wouldn't have to fix it because there wouldn't have been a reason for someone to butcher it up trying to fix it in the first place.

Thank you Sugar Bear and Fuji for the Pizza and history lessons.... We enjoyed it very much.

Sugar Bear Dig'n for Super B's

An Ironhead with a single loop frame. This was what Sugar Bear called the Shop Bike. It was never painted just a blaster and parts getter. Next to it is his Shovel with his first springer on it.

The Lathe that has helped create just about every springer he has ever made.

Every piece is made by Sugar Bear himself..... I believe the only thing he doesn't make are the Springs.